The team collected the
names of 190 civilians who were killed, including 57 women and at least
18 children and 14 elderly men, the report states.

"Given that many
residents remain missing, and opposition fighters buried many bodies in
mass graves, the total number of dead is likely higher," it said.

"Human Rights Watch has
documented that opposition forces executed or unlawfully killed at least
67 of these 190 civilians even though they were unarmed and trying to
flee."

Further investigation is
needed to establish exactly how the other residents died, but the
indications are that "most of these individuals were either
intentionally or indiscriminately killed by opposition forces," it said.

The rights group calls
on states with influence over the parties involved in the conflict to
press them to bring a halt to attacks on civilians.

The fact that such a report is now published by HRW can be interpreted
as a sign that U.S. policies on Syria are changing sides and will now,
slowly slowly, turn against the insurgents and in favor of the Syrian
government. While this will not yet change U.S. calls for "Assad must
go" it is a significant change of the direction the winds are blowing.

Its inspectors have just begun working in the active war zone, and the
Norwegian Nobel Committee said it hopes the award offers "strong
support" to them as they face arduous and life-threatening tasks.

But the OPCW did not receive the prize primarily because of its work in
Syria, committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland said. "It is because of its
long-standing efforts to eliminate chemical weapons and that we are now
about to reach the goal and do away with a whole category of weapons of
mass destruction. That would be a great event in history, if we can
achieve that."